Topic: CLIMBING PEAS

[Deb P]

'Show Perfection' is my favourite tall pea, I get mine from Robinsons and grow them up wigwams. Very good cropper and you get about 11 peas per pod, very sweet.

I love Golden Sweet for looks when it is flowering, but found the peas mealy and tasteless I'm afraid.... :-\

[Digeroo]

I wondered about the Golden Sweet - yellow mange tout with two-toned blue flowers!

I grew some of these from Real seeds, not very impressed but I think I started them off rather late not sure they liked the warm spell.  Though I understand if you manage to cross them with a purple podded one you can get red pods and I would really like to achieve that.  See the blog by Daughter of the Soil.

you really need learn to use a search engine.

Whoops.  Looks like you are right there.

[plot51A]

I notice that seedfest no longer sell individual packets - only veg collections at 39.99  :o, and that Green Arrow are not climbing peas - only grow 28 - 30". Perhaps we all need to be careful with search engines  ;D

[emmy1978]

you really need learn to use a search engine.

Whoops.  Looks like you are right there.

Or you could just keep posting here! That's the nice thing about a forum rather than a boring old search. Here you get real knowledge and experience on taste, cropping, care, as opposed to sales sites, wikipedia..... :D

[Mortality]

See the blog by Daughter of the Soil.

http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.com/

Wow thats a pretty looking pea, glad you said about that site, ty

[Robert_Brenchley]

Real Seeds now Have Champion of England, and claim it can reach ten feet! I believe Telephone, which they also have, is virtually identical to Alderman, but I haven't compared them myself.

[Jayb]

I agree Golden Sweet are gorgeous when growing and the pods are really easy to see and pick, athough they are not my favourite mange-tout to eat. I'm going to try Winterkefe this year.

I really like Simpson's Special and Alderman is good too. I prefered Purple Podded to Lancashire Lad, just that bit sweeter, but I would be happy to grow either again.

If you have not already found some, I've got a few Lancashire Lad and Golden Sweet spare if you would like a few to try Duke

[Digeroo]

These are the ones I would really like to grow.

http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.com/2008/07/red-podded-pea-update.html

I tried it this year without success.  I fertilised my yellow podded with purple podded and carefully marked the flowers and some pesky mouse ran off with the seeds!!! :-\

I grew a wall of purple podded last year to keep out the north west wind, they are very hardy.  The effect was stunning.  Great too for  grazing on the peas of a morning.

[earlypea]

What did you grow them up Digeroo?  My attempt at tall peas last year were quite pathetic - didn't like canes and string and then blew over in the wind.

And....how do people protect the tall ones (the mature pods not the baby plants) from birds?

[Mortality]

These are the ones I would really like to grow.

http://daughterofthesoil.blogspot.com/2008/07/red-podded-pea-update.html

I tried it this year without success.  I fertilised my yellow podded with purple podded and carefully marked the flowers and some pesky mouse ran off with the seeds!!! :-\

I grew a wall of purple podded last year to keep out the north west wind, they are very hardy.  The effect was stunning.  Great too for  grazing on the peas of a morning.

Wow those red pods are beautiful, her blog is so interesting and certainly infectious.

[Robert_Brenchley]

The one I really want to try is Kent Blue; I probably need to join HSL to get it. It's the only one I've seen apart from the Carlin Pea which looks like a medieval type, so it's interesting from a historical point of view.

PS I just did join. I noticed they had Carlin Pea as well, so that's two birds with one stone.

[Mortality]

See if you can contact her through her blog, maybe she would let you have some Kent Blue. I can't seem to find it any where else, except maybe the american source she got it from.(actually the american source bit could be wrong)

[Digeroo]

Early on all my peas were protected by plastic bottles.  My first year growing PPP I had quite a show of flowers and suddening a pigeon discovered the feast and stripped the lot.  I was devasted  However I wound cotton between the canes so that if it was touched all the canes started moving.  This seemed to discourage them and I was delighted to find that the plants produced more shoots lower down and after quite a short time I was back in peas. 

I also rigged up a plastic bird of prey.  Simply the outline on a piece of plastic stuck to a yogurt pot. 

I have more problem from mice who I have found climbing almost 2 metres off the ground. 

[Mortality]

I have more problem from mice who I have found climbing almost 2 metres off the ground. 

That I think will also be my problem, we occasionally get mice in the house and I'm betting there will be plenty in the garden.  :-\